49 days to the World Cup: Siphiwe Tshabalala opens 2010 tournament with stunning goal for hosts South Africa

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The opening match of the World Cup is always a big deal. The host country kicks off the tournament hoping to get off to a strong start in front of its own fans.

In 2010, South Africa played host for the first time, allowing Bafana Bafana the chance to participate in the competition for only the third time. Grouped with Mexico, Uruguay and France, it was not going to be an easy tournament for South Africa, but they made a big first impression.

The opening match in Johannesburg was loud and boisterous. Vuvuzelas, which became part of the 2010 World Cup story, were non-stop. The noise inside Soccer City went up a level in the 55th minute when Siphiwe Tshabalala opened the scoring for the hosts.

Tshabalala said years later that he contemplated chipping it over Mexico goalkeeper Óscar Pérez after spotting how far he was off his line. He chose power and benefitted from a small bounce the ball took before he made contact.

"That helped, I think, and the connection was so good that as soon as the ball left my foot I knew it was going in,” Tshabalala told FIFA.com.

The goal set off wild celebrations inside the stadium and Tshabalala and several teammates joined in on a dance they had rehearsed believing that they would need to break it out.

The match would end in a 1-1 draw and South Africa's happy mood would take a hit in its second match, a 3-0 defeat to Uruguay. But there would still be a chance to advance to the knockout round entering their final group game. Uruguay clinched first place with a win over Mexico, which meant South Africa needed a high-scoring win over France.